Olivia Munn has admitted she tried to hide her “battle scars” after undergoing a double mastectomy.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, she recalled appearing on the red carpet at the 2024 Oscars in March, before she felt comfortable revealing her diagnosis.
“I had some divots and indentations near my lymph nodes on one side of my body that I had to really dig out,” she said. told the people In an interview published on Sunday. “I was wearing a dress on the red carpet, so it was a little stressful at times.”
Mann, 43, stunned at the Academy Awards when she appeared alongside her partner of three years, John Mulaney, in a tuxedo and a bronze halter-neck dress. They both wore custom Fendi.
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“We’re really trying to disguise where the dent is and how to really smooth it out and hide it all so I can wear it,” the actress said in a post-surgery dress. He talked about when he wore it.
“It’s not something I can do alone, but knowing I have that option when I’m in front of the camera made me feel so much better about things,” she continued.
Munn, who wore a white dress for Vanity Fair’s 2024 Oscars after-party, said she is careful about her wardrobe and also grows her hair out to cover up her scars.
“Sometimes I look in the mirror and think, ‘Oh, my hair is so long, that’s why,'” she told the magazine.
“And sometimes it makes me a little sad that I still want to hide certain aspects,” she continued.
“But it’s a battle scar and I tell myself I can show them what I want and I can hide it when I want.”
Despite her struggles, the “X-Men: Apocalypse” star admitted she was “extremely happy” to have been given the option to have a “double mastectomy” and “a fighting chance.”
“When we actually rebuild it, it’s different, it’s a lot better, but it’s not the same…It’s okay because I’m here,” she continued.
The actress also detailed her return to work to film Apple TV+’s upcoming series Your Friends and Neighbors, explaining that she’s currently exploring a “different version” of herself.
“I’ve become much more forgiving with myself,” Mann said, noting that she has become much “kinder” to herself. “And it’s really fun to go back to work with no questions asked.”
Days after her Oscar appearance, Mann publicly announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer last year, shortly after getting her mammogram results.
She explained on Instagram that her life was “saved” after doctors decided to calculate her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score, which showed her lifetime risk of developing cancer was 37 percent. .
This evaluation led her doctor to order an MRI, ultrasound, and biopsy, which later confirmed that she had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Within 30 days, she underwent a double mastectomy.
“One day I was perfectly fine, and the next I woke up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery,” she wrote in a lengthy statement alongside photos of her recovery.
After four surgeries and hormone-suppressing treatments, Mann entered early menopause due to the cancer’s course.
“I’m always thinking, “It’s hot, my hair is thinning, I’m so tired,” she told People.
Now, after spending a year “fighting” without any outside noise, Mann feels she can be more open about her battles.
“I’ve never been a death-obsessed person or someone who fears death. [but] “Everything was even scarier because we had a little baby at home,” she explained, referring to her and Mulaney’s 2-year-old son Malcolm.
“When I’m with him, it’s the only time my brain doesn’t think about being sick. I’m so happy with him. And that puts a lot of things into perspective. Because even though I’ve changed, I’m still his mom. Even if I have hot flashes, I’m still his mom. Even if I lose my hair, I’m still his mom. That’s the most important thing to me: I’m here for him.”
